Clear is kind

If you follow Gary Vaynerchuk very much, you’ve probably noticed that his big push lately is for “ kind candor “. In his earlier years he did well with the “kind” part, but hid from the “candor”, which was a big disservice to those on his team.

You don’t need to hide from the truth, but don’t be a jerk about it either. It’s similar to what I shared a few weeks ago when I said that “ Honesty without kindness is brutality, and kindness without honesty is manipulation.”

In her book “ Dare to Lead “, author Brené Brown shared this thought a few different ways. She had a pretty harsh overview:

“Feeding people half-truths or bullshit to make them feel better (which is almost always about making ourselves feel more comfortable) is unkind”

But she also summarized it very neatly:

“Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.”

Hiding behind the truth to make someone feel better may work for a while, but in the long run it’s likely to lead to trouble. Speak the truth whenever possible, but always try to be a good human while you do it.

Originally published at https://www.mickmel.com on June 20, 2022.